Brooklyn's Progress
August 2003

In spite of a lagging economy and consistently high unemployment figures, Good Help, the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce’s employment service, made 31 job placements in June, surpassing the previous monthly record of 22.  In 2002, the program made only 138 placements for the entire year in large measure due to the lingering effects of 9/11 on the Brooklyn economy.  This year, however, the program has already made 90 job placements, putting the program on pace to have its most productive year since the Chamber began the service in 1998.

“In a poor economy, its small businesses that can pick up the hiring slack,” Randolph Peers, the Chamber’s Executive Director for Workforce Development, says.  “Good Help concentrates its efforts on helping small and mid-sized companies find qualified workers.  These are the types of companies that still do some hiring in a slow economy.”

One of those companies is R&W FacilityCare Systems, a building maintenance contractor, 18 of Good Help’s 31 June placements were with R&W.  “The maintenance and cleaning industry, while not totally recession proof, can still provide hiring opportunities,” according to Wayne Miles, President of R&W.  “No one can predict where the economy is going, but I can tell you that no matter how bad things are, buildings will still need to be cleaned.” 

R&W is a good example of the types of companies the Good Help program serves.  Founded in 1984 originally as a carpet cleaning service, the company diversified in 1991 by getting into the building maintenance industry.  Under the direction of Mr. Miles the company has grown to become a $2.5 million business, employing some 75 workers.  Recently the company secured additional contracts to clean various governmental buildings.  The types of jobs found in R&W vary, but mostly consist of cleaning technicians and site supervisors.  These jobs can pay between $7 and $14 per hour with benefits.

When it comes to hiring, Mr. Miles uses Good Help exclusively.  “I trust them, and I have a relationship with them,” he says.  “Using Good Help also helps me to diversify my workforce.  Through Good Help I have hired people who have disabilities and others who may have had some criminal justice issues.” 

According to Good Help’s statistics, at least six of R&W’s recent hires have been individuals with disabilities.  Because Good Help taps into a diverse network of over 150 workforce agencies from around the city, the program is able to provide businesses with access to the widest possible labor pool.  Good Help applicants can come from colleges, proprietary schools and non-profit employment and training programs.

One of the organizations Good Help works closely with is the Brooklyn Bureau of Community Service.  Founded in 1866, the Brooklyn Bureau is one of the oldest and largest social service agencies in the borough.  Since 1913 they have been providing adult rehabilitation and job training programs to persons with disabilities.  Last year the Brooklyn Bureau, through it’s many different services for both individuals and families, helped over 15,000 people.

As part of Good Help’s extensive network of providers willing to send candidates for Good Help jobs, the Brooklyn Bureau gains access to employment opportunities in the small business economy.  These jobs, like those found at R&W, are not as easily identifiable to staff in employment programs because small businesses generally don’t advertise.  Of the June placements with R&W, five were applicants from the Brooklyn Bureau.

Although jobs with specific employers like R&W have helped fuel Good Help’s recent record, the program’s ability to market itself in the context of a wider array of workforce development services has increased the program’s visibility.  Good Help functions as a part of the Chamber’s Workforce Development Department.  The overall mission is to promote the growth and development of the Brooklyn economy by providing programs and services that increase the ability of businesses to access and retain a qualified workforce.   This includes providing access to wages subsidies, tax credits and other incentives designed to spur increased hiring.  This also includes conducting on-going labor market studies designed to survey the local hiring landscape.  Such information is a valuable way to determine which industries Good Help should market its services to.

The recent success of Good Help has been more broad-based than just finding jobs in the maintenance industry.  Good Help places people in administrative positions, clerical jobs and other white-collar opportunities.  Jobs placements in security, transportation and even financial services have been part of the program’s recent portfolio. The staff specializes in serving many industries, thereby enabling Good Help to reach out to a myriad of business types. 

“Unlike traditional employment agencies that focus on specific types of jobs, because Good Help is a service of the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce, we have developed expertise in staffing for multiple industry types,” remarks Mr. Peers.  “Because we leverage almost every facet of the public workforce development system, from job training agencies to government incentive programs, we can respond to almost any type of staffing need.  If the first six months of this year prove to be any indication, the formula seems to be working.”

For more information about Good Help or the Chamber’s Workforce Development Department, please contact Randolph Peers at (718) 875-1000 x 122.  For more information about R&W Facility Care, please call (718) 625-2424.